Apologize
“Sorry about that. Really. I just don’t know what happened. I suppose, I just blanked” You said, looking down in shame. It was then, your advisor began to pity you.
“Princess, I know there’s lots of pressure on your shoulders. But if you’re going to take over the kingdom one day, then you need to take this job truly seriously.” His concerned look showed his genuine intention.
“I know. I’ve been awake for so long, and after all the work on this piece- I’ve had to make lots of sacrifices for this. I’m not like the other princesses who spend all their time being pretty and stuff. I’m a scientist!” you concluded.
You both walked through the hallway and back up to your quarters. After he took his leave you laid back in your bedchambers and watched the creaky wooden ceiling within your room. It didn’t take you long to doze off to sleep; it was as if you blinked your eyes by the time the sun was up again.
To your surprise, you were awoken by your mother, sitting at your bedside with his paw on your front leg.
“Honey, we need to have a talk with you.” you blinked open sleepy eyes.
“What?” Looking around the room, you saw your father and sibling standing in the doorway as well.
“Are you going to tell her?” the smooth voice of your mother filled the room as she called over to the king. A subtle smile adorned her face as her deep green eyes followed the larger taur padding over to your side. He coughed up the words nervously.
“Hhmmm. Princess. After last night, we all had a little talk while you were cooped up in here. Your eyes widened, and you tilted your neck slightly in confusion.
“You were talking?” the heartbeat in your chest began to pick up, and your breathing became rapid.
“Yes honey.” Your mom butted in. “Your presentation was a flop.” your brother remained in the background with folded arms. With another deep grunt, your father continued where the queen had left off.
“We heard what you told the advisor, and we’ve thought that maybe the pressure of ruling the kingdom shouldn’t be left to you alone?” You bolted upright in your bed.
“He said what?!” your voice became a flame within your throat
“Honey. We’ve all seen what you’ve put yourself through, and everyone talked about it together. It was a widely agreed conclusion that maybe you’re not cut out for this kind of work.” if it were up to you, you’d have dropped to the ground and begged for forgiveness. How could you have compromised your entire heritage from a little mistake- well it was a bit more than that
“An utter failure” you thought to yourself, without letting a word pass your lips. “I understand.” was all you could utter to the room, filled with the closest people in your life, yet in a moment, it no longer felt like that. All-in-all, you knew that the king’s word was final, and you had already done the deeds; there was no going back.
That night you cried yourself to sleep. Not even leaving your room from that morning, as you were told to take a ‘mental health break’. Yet you wanted to refuse the command. Never have you wanted to stop working, but nobody ever taught you about burnout. In the end, your entire life was influenced by your decisions.
Years later, after fully maturing into your position, you were merely married off to one of the other kingdoms’ heirs. Your life was reduced to a boring and typical one, marrying into royalty, bearing children, and managing the domestic sphere of the kingdom. Something you never thought you would have to- alas, you felt as if you got you deserved for such negligence.
Written by Driftingdragon on 26 September 2020
The end (for now)